piece of the puzzle, and you're my missing part
by deenajones
Summary: She's a little too captivated, she realizes. And it's incredibly unprofessional for her to see Finn that way. - It's not right since he's married, or that she works for him, or perhaps the fact that she and Finn would never work out. AU.


The idea of Rachel in a nanny position just sort of popped into my head . . . I hope you enjoy!

(thank you so, so, so, much to *after-always* for beta-ing!)

(Don't own Glee).

* * *

When he gets home from the station, the first thing he sees is his wife. She looks super pissed and judging by the look of despair on his child's face, he can only assume one thing.

Their nanny/maid, Veronica, quit.

He's not surprised at all, really. They've had multiple maid/nannies quit on them. Some reasons being that "Quinn is a depressing woman who just sits on her ass", "Quinn whines all day about how she has nothing to do", and the ever-popular "Quinn is a bitch".

He walks into the kitchen where she's sitting at the counter with a letter in her hand (most likely from Veronica and voicing her issues and why she must leave).

"Hey, babe," he kisses her cheek and she grins a little.

"Hello, Finn. Veronica quit," she turns and faces him in the barstool.

He nods a little and opens the fridge for a beer, "That's what I was assuming."

"We'll find a new one by next week, of course. It's just a shame, really," she sighs. "I had thought Veronica and I had formed some sort of friendship."

He just nods. He's a little unsure of what he should say.

* * *

The doorbell chimes and he rises immediately to answer the door. Usually when they put ads in the paper, a whole bunch of women come to apply. But since their most recent ad, they've had no one show up. It's been a let down, of course. But Finn understands; Quinn is high-maintenance, and snobby. He wouldn't want to be a maid in her house. But he's married to her. He shouldn't say that.

When he answers the door, he sees possibly one of the smallest women he's ever laid eyes on, "Hi, I'm Rachel Berry," she holds her hand out to him and he takes it, gives it a gentle shake, "I am here to offer my services as your daughter's nanny and the house's maid-slash-cleaning services."

He smiles a little, he likes this girl already, "I'm Finn. Finn Hudson. Come in," he gestures inside and shuts the door behind her, then motioning to the couch, where she sits primly, hands in lap.

"Is Mrs. Hudson here as well?"

He gulps, "Uh, no, actually. She's out today. She hasn't ever really worked. It's usually just me, but she wants to try it out, so she went looking today."

She giggles a little and it's then he notices that he's rambling a bit, "Oh, well okay. Am I still allowed to be interviewed?"

"Of course. But there's really nothing for me to ask you. I just gotta know if you like little 5 year old girls and cleaning."

Rachel beams, "Both are two of my greatest passions. I like to have everything sparkling and I want 7 children someday. Just like the Von Trapp family in The Sound Of Music."

He's pretty sure she's really talkative and he barely knows her, but he thinks he likes it, "That's awesome. Can you start –"

"6:00am tomorrow, Mr. Hudson," she chirps.

His eyes widen, "Call me Finn. And that's great. Thank you."

"You too," she pauses, grinning, "Finn."

* * *

It's been 2 weeks since Rachel started and she hasn't quit yet, so he takes that as a pretty good sign. And she deals with Quinn pretty smoothly. Quinn now has a job at this one business he knows nothing about . . . he just knows it has something to do with real-estate. And it makes Quinn happy so he's all for it. But she's still moody and Rachel handles it all in stride.

Faith loves Rachel. She has her playing with all the Barbies she keeps. Rachel taught her how to make sugar cookies with pink frosting, too. Faith says she thinks Rachel will stick around and he hopes she does.

She has this thing about her that Finn finds really endearing. He's not sure what it is. But it scares the shit out of him. He's married with a daughter so that equals the feelings he has for Rachel being moot.

But he and her can be friends. She understands him really well. His problems with Quinn, and work, life, just everything. And he knows that she is an aspiring Broadway actress. She explained to him what Broadway was and then offered to take him to a show, but he declined saying he would probably have work stuff to handle (which wouldn't've been true, he always gets things done at the office, but he knows going with Rachel would be like cheating on Quinn in a way and he can't have Quinn making petty assumptions). She had nodded and said she understood.

She also has this little thing where if she thinks something's really funny, her body reverberates with giggles and the skin around her eyes crinkle and he likes that.

Yeah, he likes Rachel Berry a lot.

But only as a friend.

* * *

"Who is Barbra Streisand?" he has no clue who the _hell_ this woman is.

Rachel slaps his chest. They've just put Faith down for a small, late afternoon nap (he's off work today) and then she had launched into this spiel about her favorite musicals and once she mentioned her absolute favorite Funny Girl, she had decided that he needed to know who Barbra Streisand is and how great her existence is. How she's changed everyone's way of living, really.

"What did you just ask me, Finn Hudson?"

He chuckles a little, but then realizes the slap wasn't playful. She's serious, he can tell by the look in her eye, "I – I just don't really know who this Barbra is . . . I mean she sounds pretty damn awesome, but I've never heard of her before."

Her gaze softens a bit, but she still looks determined, "Oh, Finn. You are right. Barbra is truly 'damn awesome'," she giggles and he smiles, he really loves her laugh (in a friend way he thinks it's cute), "I'll have to lend you my worn copy of Funny Girl sometime. Or I'll just buy you a new one because I've never lent my copy of the classic to anyone before. But I think I might be able to trust you. I don't know. We'll see. But oh my goodness! I need to tell you about this one thing that she did all these years ago . . ."

He doesn't really pay attention to what she's saying. He keeps nodding, trying to convince her he is, hums in agreement, but he's distracted by the way her lips move. They're plump and tinted a bit pink because of her cherry chapstick she applied a few minutes prior. He likes her lips, they aren't like Quinn's. She has thin lips – thinner than Rachel's anyway. He wonders what it would be like to kiss Rachel. He does. It's kind of natural to think about a friend that way, right? Like, friends find friends attractive and stuff. Not a crime.

So why does it feel like it is, then?

* * *

Quinn comes home around 2:00am after one day of working and he's a little bit bothered by it. He's not gonna lie. Like she's still his wife and he really loved her at one point (still does, of course, duh) so he doesn't like it when he's helping Rachel sort laundry one day and smells another man's cologne on her sweater. He sniffs Quinn's article of clothing a couple more times and it's definitely not his.

He's not bothered a lot by it, though. It upsets him and stuff because it makes him feel a little worthless in Quinn's eyes if her clothes smell like some other cologne. But Rachel still looks at him like he's special with her big, brown doe-eyes. And he likes that she does that. He likes that a lot.

And it's not really like Quinn had to have cheated on him to have some other cologne on her, she works with men, he assumes. And so he stops thinking about it as intensely. Instead, he focuses on the way that Rachel's giggling to herself in that adorable way she does.

He thinks Rachel is just this different thing. She's so much more different than Quinn. And Quinn doesn't really understand him like Rachel does. Rachel is insane like Quinn, but she still manages to be polite at the same time, whereas Quinn becomes a total wench and dictates whatever argument she's put against.

"Rachel?" he hears Faith, who is sitting in her little chair in front of where he and Rachel are on the couch sorting the dirty laundry.

"Yes, sugar pie?" Rachel stops her sorting momentarily to look at the girl.

"I like hearing you talk 'bout that Broadway stuff. It sounds cool," Faith pauses, looking down shyly, tapping the bow on the side of her head that Rachel had brought her, "could I maybe go to one someday? With you?"

Rachel claps excitedly and grins a big toothy one and holds out her arms to the small girl, "Come here, honey!"

Faith walks to Rachel's arms with a big smile on her face, and kisses Rachel's cheek, "You're so cool, Rachel."

Rachel's smile is blinding, "You know, you're cool, too, Faith. And yes, I would absolutely love to take you to your first Broadway show!"

Faith throws her arms around Rachel dramatically and Rachel rubs the girl's back and catches Finn's eye, who has been watching the entire exchange with real stars in his eyes. Maybe even hearts . . .

Oh, no.

* * *

She's on her way home from the Hudson's when her phone buzzes in her pocket.

_Hey Rach. Thanks so much for everything you've done lately. With Faith and all. And you've just been really awesome with me, too:) _

She smiles big when she sees his sweet text. She really likes working with this family. Even though she really only talks to Finn and Faith, since Quinn's always out. She wonders all the time where Quinn is and why she can't spend more time with her family. If she were Quinn, she would want to spend as much time as possible with Finn and Faith. Faith is probably the sweetest girl she's ever met; she's shy, but loves to dance 'till she's a mess (just like her mother used to enjoy doing, she has told Rachel). Faith is also very smart, and Rachel finds that very marvelous.

And then there's Finn. They've formed a very close friendship and she really loves being with him as much as she is able to be. Finn has this thing about him when they're together, though, that makes her feel all around complete. It scares her that she feels this way – since he is a married man and all that. But, she does have this inkling that he isn't very happy being married to Quinn. She feels awful thinking that way, but he just seems so happy in the day-time around her and Faith, and when Quinn comes home late in the evening, his mood seems to drop dramatically.

Finn is very special, but he tells her he's not. Even though he's the chief at his firehouse, he's told her that Quinn tells him he needs a better job – like working at a law-firm, or being an accountant. He tells Rachel that he really enjoys working at the firehouse and hates that Quinn can't see that. She hates that Quinn can't see that, too.

_Oh, it's really no problem, Finn. I love being with you and Faith. She's the cutest. You're awesome, too, btw:)_

When she gets to her apartment, she's suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of tiredness, and decides it's probably time for bed. She's brushing her teeth when she gets the next text.

_I'm really happy that our last nanny quit. You're probably my best friend and that never would have happened if you didn't come in as Faith's new nanny and stuff._

_I think we would have met, Finn. Because I feel that our friendship is really special and something that only comes once in a lifetime. You know what I mean? :)_

She puts on her Strawberry-Shortcake pajamas and settles into bed, and plugs her phone into the charger. But as soon as she does that she feels her phone buzz and sees: **Finn Hudson Calling**.

She unplugs her phone (seeing it being plugged in as a safety hazard), "Hello, Finn?"

"Hey, Rach," he sounds a little benign over the receiver.

"Why did you call me?" she laughs a little. "We could've just texted."

He chuckles, "I just wanted to talk to you, about that last text you sent me, yeah . . . and I kind of just wanted to talk to my best friend."

"Oh, okay. Um, what were you wanting to apprehend from my last text?" she smiles a little. He really is so sweet.

"Have you ever had a best friend before?" he asks with a bashful tint in his voice.

She thinks about that for a minute, "Not really, no. I just have a few good friends from my past off-Broadway productions. The only thing close is my friend Santana. She moved to LA last year, though. We became a little distant due to that, but I believe if we were best friends in the first place, she and I would have tried harder to stay in touch."

"Oh, yeah," its sounds as if he's holding something back. But she won't delve.

"What about you, Finn? Have you ever had a best friend?"

He's silent, then responds, "Nope. I don't think so. I'm really friendly, I know, but I don't let myself get too attached to things I don't see working out, I guess."

She's slightly confused, but gets it a little, "What exactly do you mean?"

"I don't like getting hurt, and I see that happen a lot with good friends. Best friends especially. That's just how I feel . . . I don't think you're like that, though. I know you're not like that, Rach."

She smiles at his soft words, "Thank you, Finn. And I feel the same, actually. And I feel you won't hurt me, either. You're a very good friend. That's why I'm not ashamed to call you my best friend."

"Yeah, me too. Well, I'll let you go to bed, Rach. Sweet dreams."

"You too, Finn. Goodnight," she closes her phone and dreams a little of Finn that night. That worries her a bit.

* * *

She accidentally walks in on Finn changing about two months into her house-hold duties.

She's super transfixed. His chest, stomach, and legs are toned in the best way. Not too little, yet not too much. His body is perfect (as she expected, of course). And she _was _right about him being uncommonly endowed in . . . a certain place.

She's a little too captivated, she realizes. And it's incredibly unprofessional for her to see Finn that way (to even _think _of him that way). She's seen too much.

She thinks it's horrible that she's developed these feelings for him. It's not right since he's married, or that she works for him, or perhaps the fact that she and Finn would never work out.

Or maybe they could in some other type of life. If he wasn't married, and she was already a fabulously well known Broadway actress. She has no time for a serious romance and she believes with the passion that she and Finn's friendship portrays shows that their relationship would just be too much to handle at this point in her life.

She places the laundry basket down outside he and Quinn's bedroom, and rushes away from the cracked door.

She's going to find a guy that she doesn't have to be serious with. Just a little fun . . . maybe it will take her mind from such inappropriate places about the man she works for.

* * *

She decides to call up Jesse St. James on a rainy Saturday before she goes to the Hudson's.

Jesse was a good friend of hers when she worked on an off-off Broadway West Side Story production. He was the Tony to her Maria, and their chemistry was remarkable. She also remembers Jesse once mentioning how he didn't have time for any kind of serious relationship, either.

The receiver rings twice before she hears him, "Rachel Berry?"

She grins, in spite of herself, "Hey, Jesse. What are you doing tonight?"

* * *

Finn arrives back at the apartment at precisely 4:00pm, as promised, so Rachel decides it's time to leave. It's still kind of hard for her to look Finn in the eyes, as well.

She looks at the clock, "I guess it's time for me to leave," still no eye contact, "I'll see you next week, Finn."

She tries to get past him to the door, "Woah, woah. What's the rush, Rach?"

She decides to look at his face, and she sees his little half-grin, deciding that it wasn't the best idea to look at him, "I've got a date."

His eyebrows crinkle and she thinks it's actually really adorable, but when he speaks his voice is sullen, "Oh."

"What?" she grins, trying to lighten his mood.

"Mm, nothing. Don't stress it. But, um, who is it? Sorry, it's just you're my best friend, so I think I should be a little aware of these things, you know? Just to be on the safe side . . ."

She grins, but finds it a bit strange that he's so concerned, "His name is Jesse . . . " his eyes show he needs more information, "St. James. We worked in an off-off Broadway production together a year or so ago."

He still looks slightly disquieted, but she looks past it, "Just be careful, 'kay?"

She smiles again, "Okay, Finn. I will be."

He leans down and gives her a hug. And it feels so good (as it always does), and yet again that frightens her, so she pulls away, but smiles anyway, "Faith is in her room playing with her toys. Call me if you need anything, okay?"

His expression is sad still and it concerns her slightly, "'Kay. Bye, Rach."

* * *

He's just put Faith down for bed when he decides to call Rachel. And maybe just check on how things went down. He's just watching out for her because good friends do that.

"So, Rach, uh, how was your date?"

"Good," she sounds a little quiet, so he tries to get her to say more.

"Where did you guys go?" it's not much to ask, really, but maybe it will get him somewhere.

"A restaurant with great vegan food. Really good, actually," she sounds as if her mind is elsewhere and that kind of freaks him out.

"Oh, okay."

He doesn't know what to say, so he just decides maybe he should fill Rachel in on how Faith was the rest of the day. She did miss Rachel after she had left . . . yeah, he'll tell her that, "Faith missed you a lot when you left earlier today. She's really grown attached to you, Rach. She like loves you."

"She's the sweetest; I love her, too. But, hey, Finn, I-I gotta go. I'm sort of in the middle of something. I'll be at your house by 6:00am sharp on Monday morning, Finn. Goodnight."

"O-Oh, um, 'kay, sweet dreams, Rach," but the line's already gone dead.

At first he's scared. Like, is she in serious danger, where he needs to go protect her tiny little body with his big, broad one? Or has Jesse completely ruined her night? Is she like really upset with the turn out of the things that happened at her date? But then he remembers that, _duh_, they're best friends. Like the best of best friends. She would have told him about all of that stuff if it had been an issue.

He then realizes that she did sound busy when she was on the phone. And not like the crying kind of busy but like he had interrupted her in the middle of something important, something fun maybe.

And then it hits him.

She totally had a great time on her date with Jesse. She's probably with him right now, and he had totally made a loser asshole out of himself calling her like that.

He decides to sleep on it, and on Monday he'll try to get an even better idea of how the date went. Because even though she and Jesse may be a sort of _thing_ now (ew),

she and Finn are still best friends, so he can ask her things about her dates and stuff.

He still wishes it were him who had gone on that date with her tonight, though.

* * *

continue? r/r . . . :) *title comes from lyrics of She&Him's Sentimental Heart


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